Chapter 157: A Sudden Festival
Chapter 157: A Sudden Festival
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Seeing Mia's current attitude, other than feeling empathy towards her, Baiyi's heart was filled with some frustration. The influence of her parents towards her might be a factor that would affect him in the future. The thing was, the little girl was very obedient. Just a few words from her parents could make her take off her favourite new clothes. So who knew, maybe with another few words tomorrow would result in her changing her Soul Armature.
Of course, the example was a little drastic but what happened if his identity as a Voidwalker, a monster or demon as the inhabitants of this world liked to believe, was exposed? Would Mia still stand firmly by his side even if her parents are against him? Baiyi could not help but worry about it.
Before they departed from Arfin city, he thought that her parents were just ordinary people. He thought that if he showed them his financial capability and his strength, he could put on a good show and her parents would gladly hand over their daughter's hand to him. Unexpectedly, Mia's parents turned out to be much more down-to-Earth than he had initially thought. It was to the point that he could not help but look up to them for being so dignified despite being so humble. Baiyi had to admit that he would never be able to surpass them in that regard.
However, since he had already made up his mind that he would not do anything to her parents, it seemed impossible for him to replace her father's position in her heart. He could try and change Mia's values and way of thinking but it would be a very long and tedious process. He had no other choice but to wait till the young Mia is more mature.
Fortunately, the process was only long and tedious. Even though it was not as fast and convenient as replacing her father directly, still, it was not entirely impossible. The influence of parents and family was not absolute and permanent. As long as Baiyi had a greater influence on her, to the point that Mia would turn a deaf ear on her parents' words, then he would no longer have to worry about her biological parents.
I won't snatch your daughter away from you but I'll make your daughter listen to me more. As the Fifth Walker of the Void, Baiyi was exceptionally confident in the matter.
Looking at the embarrassed girl in front of him, he reached out and pinched her cheeks as he comforted her, "Don't worry, I'll not ask a cent from your parents. The clothes are also yours, you can't give it to Tisdale or Attie. I will buy it again for them if they want it."
Hearing his words, Mia opened her mouth to refute but Baiyi had already placed a finger on top of her thin lips, "You don't have to worry about your parents. I'll talk to them later. Oh yeah, where are they right now?"
"Mom has already went to prepare lunch and daddy just went out. Just now Uncle Kai from next door told him that a caravan has arrived so he needs to do some preparation," Mia replied.
"A caravan? At this time?" Baiyi felt it was a little strange.
In truth, it was actually quite normal for caravans to come to such small towns to trade business. The hard work of the peasants for the entire year was changed to gold coins through this method. Still, it was just the beginning of August, where summer was not even over yet and many crops were not matured yet. It was a bit strange for the caravan to choose such a time to come.
"Uncle Kai said that there was flood in the South so the harvest there is not that good this year. For this reason, many of the caravans that usualy travel to the South came upwards to the North. Because of this, the number of caravans suddenly increased greatly. They will come again during harvest season but it seems like this time they are here to sell some goods," Mia told him the news that she heard.
Baiyi nodded his head. The torrential rain in the South just started when they first returned to Arfin city from the grassland. There was a moment when the whole Arfin city was busy talking about it. There were also talks about the Imperial City organizing a disaster relief. Tisdale was one who told him about it, she must have gotten the news from the workshop.
Hmmm, the caravan certainly did not come here for the good of the peasants. It must be that they are trying to recover the losses that they suffered in the South, Baiyi speculated. During lunch, Lord Nolan mentioned the matter again, telling them that the goods that the caravan brought with them were pretty cheap and he even asked Mia's mother to prepare some money so that they could buy some new things to decorate their house with.
However, Lord Nolan was very busy today. After he hastily stuffed a few mouthful of food into his mouth, he left in a rush. He did not have the time for idle chit chat with the rest.
After dinner, Baiyi took off his visor and took out the animal coin banks that he hid there beforehand and arranged it nicely in Mia's cleanly-swept room before going to find Mia, who was helping her mother clear up the dining table, "Shall we go have a look at the caravan?"
She nodded her head. Quickly, she put on a sun hat and grabbed his arm as they walked towards the only street in the town that was located not too far away from her house. Along the way, they saw many peasant women talking and laughing as they made their way there, too. Children were running happily on the street that was paved with stones. The whole town seemed busy and lively, as if they were celebrating a festive season.
There were many people who greeted Mia along the way while they stared at Baiyi in awe. The two of them walked at a very slow pace. Looking at such a vibrant scene, he whispered in her ear softly, "Looks like everyone is very happy!"
"Yeah, it's because the caravans rarely come here! That's why all of them are very excited about it," Mia explained, "It was the same for me when I was younger. Everytime the caravans came, mom and dad would buy a few new clothes, candies and pastries for me! I used to wish that the caravans would come to our little town everyday!" A cheeky smile appeared on her face as she was telling the story.
However, after a short while, that lovely smile suddenly disappeared without warning. She seemed to have realized something before she gently shook Baiyi's arm and said, "B-But, Mr. Hope, today when I heard that the caravans are here, I don't feel excited at all. It's probably because of I've been in Arfin city for so long now that I'm no longer interested in the things that the caravans bring with them..."
"It's normal, Mia," Baiyi gently stroked her head, "People grow up eventually. Those things that used to make you happy will eventually become common to you as you grow older. This is a process that everyone will go through. Don't worry about it so much, it's enough as long as you remember the joy that you used to feel last time."
Mia nodded her head gently before reaching out her hands to hold the big hand that was stroking her head, "I know, Mr. Hope. I understand this very well b-but I'm still a little worried. You are so good to me and my life is so perfect and I am so happy now! But what happens if I no longer feel satisfied about the current life later in the future?"
Oh? I didn't know that this fella is so aware of things, Baiyi gently gripped her hand, "Then you have to work harder! Work hard and pursue the better life that you want and wish for! When you no longer feel satisfied with that better life, continue to work harder and move forward! One of the main reasons why human beings are able to progress and develop such a civilization was stemmed from the contradictions and dissatisfactions that we feel towards our own lives! These constitute an important driving force for the development of mankind!"
In truth, Mia was good in everything, except for the fact that she lacked ambition. Especially after she met Baiyi, her material conditions had improved so much that she had became somehat lazy and complacent. Still, Baiyi refused to lower his standard and kept trying to figure out ways to make her more ambitious.
Even though the Voidwalkers had decided not to constrain her and let her choose her future paths by herself, she still needed guidance from Baiyi. They did not plan to interfere with the path that she was going to choose but at the very least, she needed to have the desire to pursue power, right?
Fortunately, right now Mia was able to recognize the problem and it gave him an opening to give her a pep talk. He seized the opportunity as he explained to her about many values and although the topic had somehow went off-track, it did not matter as long as he infused in her the correct sense of values.
Not fully understanding, the little girl nodded before lifting up her head again, "But, Mr. Hope, I'm very satisfied with my life right now!"
"Well, it's because you haven't tasted a better life yet," Baiyi explained, "You're still a student now, a mere Advanced Level sorceress. The luxurious life of higher-level sorcerers are far beyond your imagination. The life that I'm providing you right now is not even as good as their students you know."
"A-Ah? I-I can't imagine that..." Mia muttered as she lowered her head.
It looks I have to bring her out more to open her eyes! Baiyi thought to himself. This girl is too easy to please!
Just like that, after some idle talk, the two of them arrived at a small square that was in the middle of the town. When he passed by earlier, it was rather deserted with only some elderly people and children playing at the square. However at that moment, it was very crowded with most of the people in the town gathered over to look at the neatly parked wagons that was filled with an assortment of merchandise.
The lively scene was just like how it was during a festive season.
Baiyi checked out the wagons from far. The items were mostly fabric, daily necessities like salts, and some high-grade products like wine, tobacco, clothes and toys. There were no luxurious goods nor magical items in the wagon. Looked like the choice of goods were specifically chosen to meet the demand of this small little town.
Still, Baiyi did not see the emblem of the chamber of commerce so he guessed that it must be an irregular caravan that was self-organized and not from any organization. It was a common practice so it was no wonder they came earlier than usual. After all, such irregular caravan did not have a clear time concept in their schedule.
Still, if they were in a hurry to make money, why did they chose this little town? This little town was a standard agricultural town that had very limited purchasing power. Although the scene appeared to be bustling with commotion, the merchandises that they sold were all low-margin items that would not make them much money. If they really intended to make money, then the better choice would be the several mining towns that were located just south of Wyllspringshire. It was only two days of journey from Wyllspringshire.
However, the skeptical feeling that Baiyi had quickly disappeared in a flash. He did not bother himself too much with it as there was no need for him to worry about the intentions of the businessmen. Even if they were bandits or robbers in disguise, it did not matter as there was nothing that was valuable at all in this town. On top of that, Arfin city was just a stone throw away and now that he was here in the town, what kind of ploy could they plot that he would not be able to handle?
For that reason, he took a breather and went to pick some daily necessities that they needed at home. Although he attracted some curious looks from the passersby, he chose to ignore them. He was constantly being stared at ever since he entered the little town so he had already gotten used to the attention.